Tarique Rahman. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The new members of the Parliament of Bangladesh will be sworn in at 10 a.m. on February 17, 2026, the Election Commission of Bangladesh has announced 
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Kevin Kelly, the Irish Ambassador to India and Bangladesh, meets Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus of the interim government in Dhaka on February 10.

Bangladesh will soon witness the birth of a new political party that will safeguard the young generation’s contribution to the uprising that overthrew the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. Nahid Islam, a senior official in the interim government, conveyed the student coordinator’s plans to launch a political party to Kevin Kelly, the Irish Ambassador to India and Bangladesh, this week.

Mr. Kelly had paid a three-day visit to Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar. He met with Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, Touhid Hossein, the Adviser on Foreign Affairs, and Nahid Islam, the adviser on telecom and information and broadcasting. Mr. Islam had played a major role in organising the uprising.

Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, who led the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, had called for a week-long consultation about the possibility of launching a new political party that would provide an alternative to the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), two parties that ruled Bangladesh for most of the period since its independence in 1971.

In response to a question from The Hindu, Ambassador Kelly said, “I asked and it was confirmed to me and it is also being reported widely in the Bangladeshi media. So there is work underway to form a political party.” The Irish envoy further said he understood that the political party was part of an overall effort by the young protesters to safeguard the legacy of the uprising of August 2024.

“The sense I got was the young people had taken decisive action in terms of the uprising in July. Now, they want to make sure that they have political representation and a political voice in the future of Bangladesh,” said Mr. Kelly, who is one of the first New Delhi-based Western envoys to have access to the leadership of the interim government. Ireland has faced many intractable problems in its journey to peace. The country’s strident support for cases such as the conflict in Gaza Strip and the Rohingya crisis has also been noticed.

The formation of a new political party in Bangladesh is significant, given the upcoming elections that are expected to be held in December this year.

Mr. Yunus, in his chat with Ambassador Kelly, gave a sense of the roadmap that his administration will follow to bring Bangladesh back on the track of democracy. It is understood that the declaration of the political party by the student coordinators and officials in the interim government will lead to some changes within the current set-up, Mr. Kelly said. The student coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement had earlier announced that the new party would be “moderate”.

The Irish Ambassador also recounted Ireland’s unique experience of conflict resolution and reconciliation after decades of violence and terrorism that is referred to as “the troubles”. In his conversation with Mr. Yunus, Mr. Kelly expressed hope that the process of reconciliation in the case of Bangladesh “should not take that long”.

The Irish envoy’s visit to the Rohingya camps near Cox’s Bazar was partly prompted by Ireland’s commitment to resolving the Rohingya crisis. The envoy pointed out that Ireland is among the countries that, apart from extending financial support, is also taking a small number of Rohingya individuals to reduce suffering.

Muhammad Yunus
| Photo Credit: AP

After months of maintaining a low profile, the deposed Awami League of Bangladesh has begun to mobilise both inside the country and in different parts of the world. The political party that ruled Bangladesh for over a decade and a half faced serious setbacks when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Cabinet colleagues were deposed and fled the country in August. However, over the past few weeks, AL leaders have begun to challenge the interim government headed by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus.

Earlier this week, the joint secretary of the Awami League, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, lashed out against the Yunus government following the recommendations made by the Constitution Reforms Commission seeking fundamental changes to the state of Bangladesh. In a statement, the Awami League leader said in Dhaka that the “commission has recommended removal of secularism, socialism, and nationalism from the 1972 constitution and the recommendations are not acceptable at all.”

Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Hasan Mahmud, is known to have taken refuge in Belgium. and the All European Awamii League has been holding multiple meetings in Belgium protesting against growing instances of mob justice and breakdown in police system and administration.

The main overground political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that was in sync with the interim government in August and September is no longer extending unconditional support. On Sunday, General Secretary of BNP Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir echoed the concerns as enunciated by Mr. Hanif of the Awami League. Mr. Mirza Fakhrul said that the far reaching changes suggested by the reform commissions will not be accepted without all party consensus. The statement was made following an event on the 89th birth anniversary of founder of the BNP and late Presdent Ziaur Rahman in Dhaka.

File photo of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina
| Photo Credit: AP

NEW DELHI

Several audio recordings of purported conversations between deposed Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and members of her party, the Awami League, have stirred controversy in Bangladesh, with her opponents accusing her of trying to incite violence as the interim government plans the next election cycle. In the latest audio clip that went viral on Sunday, ex-PM Hasina can be heard saying that those who targeted her party members would face consequences.

Though the reports of the phone calls from former PM Hasina began circulating soon after she was forced to leave Dhaka on 5 August in a helicopter, the matter gained attention in September when a conversation between her and an Awami League supporter from the US was shared widely. In the conversation, she had said, “I am nearby. I can return quickly if necessary.” In the latest conversation, Sheikh Hasina can be heard saying, “You should make a list of those who are carrying out attacks on our people. No one will be spared. I can return any moment.”

The conversations were initially dismissed as being generated by AI but subsequently began to be taken seriously after Jehangir Kabir, general secretary of Barguna District of the Awami League, was arrested by police for conspiring with Hasina, who is currently wanted in multiple cases related to the student uprising in Bangladesh.

Inciting violence

Hasina’s conversations with her party colleagues were taken up by leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who said she was trying to incite violence from outside. “An audio of Sheikh Hasina’s conversation was leaked on Sunday, in which she instructs the Jubo League and Chhatra League to prepare for armed resistance. It means she’s issuing threats of bloodshed,” joint general secretary of the BNP Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday.

The controversy has sharpened the political divide in Dhaka. The interim government banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the Awami League’s student wing, last week. After the Chhatra League’s banning, the conversation in Dhaka has now shifted towards banning the Awami League itself so that it can be prevented from participating in the next election.

Bangladesh’s interim government has made it clear that it will initiate political and economic reforms before the next election is announced. The interim government’s attitude towards the Awami League and its participation in the electoral process are issues that are being discussed currently in the ruling circles of Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, the government’s law adviser, Asif Nazrul, announced that the process of constituting the election commission of Bangladesh has started, and the country will have an election soon. He, however, indicated that the interim government would revise the electoral list ahead of polling. “The people of the county had no interest in the voter list since previous elections were fake. This time, we will hold an extraordinary free and fair election,” Asif Nazrul said in response to questions from the media in Dhaka.

Sheikh Hasina. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“A fresh case has been filed against Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 58 others on the charges of attempting to murder a student during the violent clashes that led to the fall of her government last month,” a media report said on Sunday (September 15, 2024).

It was the latest in the slew of cases filed against the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Sheikh Hasina faces 33 cases, including murder, after ouster from Bangladesh

The case was filed on Friday by 22-year-old Fahim Faisal, who claimed he was shot and injured during an anti-government protest in Dinajpur on August 4, a day before the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

“With this, the tally of cases against Ms. Hasina has reached 155, including 136 for murder, seven for crimes against humanity and genocide, three for abduction, eight for attempted murder and one for the attack on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party procession,” the report said.

According to the case statement, protesters were assaulted with firearms and local weapons, resulting in multiple injuries to Faisal, who was treated at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital and recovered partially.

A month since Sheikh Hasina was forced out, Dhaka’s new rulers ask for ‘patience’

The case accuses 59 people, including Ms. Hasina, former whip Iqbalur Rahim and Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Chairman Imdad Sarkar.

More than 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

The slogan ‘This is new Bangladesh’ was spray-painted on a gate of a bungalow, to mark the recent anti-government protest that ousted then PM Sheikh Hasina, in the Dhaka University area on August 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

A case was filed on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) against Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 86 others on charge of attacking a procession in Sylhet city which left several people shot and injured during the recent mass protests on August 4, taking the number of cases against her after her ouster to 33.

Juber Ahmed, acting president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Sylhet city unit, filed the case with the court of Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate Suman Bhuiya.

Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana is also an accused in the case.

According to the case statement, the accused attacked a peaceful rally, brought out by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its associate organisations in Sylhet City’s Bandarbazar area on August 4, which left several shot and injured, The Daily Star newspaper said.

Awami League’s general secretary and former road transport minister Obaidul Quader, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, former law minister Anisur Rahman, and former advisor to the prime minister Salman F Rahman were among people named in the case.

With this case, Hasina is now facing 33 cases against her, including 27 for murder, four for crimes against humanity and genocide, and one for abduction, the paper said.

Hasina fled to India on August 5 after resigning from her post amidst unprecedented anti-government student-led protests.

The Hasina-led government was replaced by an interim government, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was named its Chief Adviser.

Bangladesh’s interim government has said it will try those involved in the killings during the recent mass movement of the students against the Hasina-led government in the International Crimes Tribunal.

Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs first started in mid-July.

On Tuesday, she along with five other was implicated in a case lodged over the murder of private company employee Firoj Talukder in indiscriminate shooting from a helicopter by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) during recent anti-discrimination students’ movement.

Earlier Hasina, her son Sajeeb, daughter Saima and sister Rehana and 17 others were sued in a case filed over the killing of a fruit seller in the capital’s Jatrabari on August 5.

The victim’s father, Sultan Miah, filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shakil Ahmed.

Another case was filed against Hasina and 49 others over the death of Md Omar Faruque, a student of Kabi Nazrul Government College, at Laxmibazar of Sutrapur on July 19.

Hasina and 24 others were sued for the death of 18-year-old garment worker Sohel Rana in the city’s Adabor area on August 5.

In Savar, Hasina and 75 Awami League men were sued over the murder of a barber shop worker on August 5.

In Narayanganj, a case was filed against Hasina, seven former ministers and lawmakers and 179 others for killing a bus helper in the Kanchpur area of Sonargaon upazila.

In Rangpur, Hasina, her sister and 49 were sued over the killing of a vegetable trader during the quota reform movement on July 19.

In Joypurhat, a murder case has been filed against Hasina along with 216 others in connection with the death of an auto driver in front of a police station on August 5.

In Bogura, Hasina and Obaidul Quader have been sued for the murder of a rickshaw puller on August 4.

A protester vandalises a mural of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with paint, demanding her resignation, at Teacher Student Center area of University of Dhaka, in Dhaka. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal has started an investigation against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during students’ mass movement against her government.

A complaint was filed on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) with the investigation agency of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal against Ms. Hasina, Awami League general secretary and former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and several other prominent figures within the party.

The complainant’s lawyer Gazi M.H. Tamim confirmed on Thursday (August 15, 2024) that the Tribunal started the probe, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

He said the investigation agency started the investigation on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) night.

The Hasina-led Awami League along with its affiliated organisations is also named in the petition.

The petition was filed by Bulbul Kabir, the father of Arif Ahmed Siam, a Class IX student who was killed during the anti-discrimination student movement.

Mr. Kabir’s application accuses Ms. Hasina and others of orchestrating a violent crackdown on student protestors, resulting in widespread casualties and human rights violations.

The complaint came on a day when the interim government said that the murders conducted within the period from July 1 to August 5 would be tried by the International Crimes Tribunal.

Separately, a case of enforced disappearance was filed on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) against Ms. Hasina and several others, including former Ministers of her Cabinet, on the charge of kidnapping a lawyer in 2015.

On Tuesday (August 13, 2024), a murder case was filed against Ms. Hasina and six others over the death of a grocery shop owner during last month’s violent clashes that led to the fall of her government.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Thursday (August 15, 2024) asked police to submit by September 15 the probe report of the case filed against Ms. Hasina and six others over the death of grocery shop owner Abu Saeed in police firing in the capital’s Mohammadpur area during the quota protests on July 19.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zaki Al Farabi set the date after the case was placed before his court for the next course of action.

The student-led protests demanding reforms in government job quotas evolved into a government-toppling movement in early August.

Over 230 people died in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina Government on August 5, taking the death toll to 560 during the three weeks of violence.

Following Ms. Hasina’s resignation, a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in the country, promising to address administrative and political reforms and hold accountable those involved in the violence.

Separately, a case of enforced disappearance was filed on Wednesday against Hasina and several others, including former ministers of her cabinet, on the charge of kidnapping a lawyer in 2015.

On Tuesday, a murder case was filed against Hasina and six others over the death of a grocery shop owner during last month’s violent clashes that led to the fall of her government.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Thursday asked police to submit by September 15 the probe report of the case filed against Hasina and six others over the death of grocery shop owner Abu Saeed in police firing in the capital’s Mohammadpur area during the quota protests on July 19.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zaki Al Farabi set the date after the case was placed before his court for the next course of action.

The student-led protests demanding reforms in government job quotas evolved into a government-toppling movement in early August.

Over 230 people died in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, taking the death toll to 560 during the three weeks of violence.

Following Hasina’s resignation, a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in the country, promising to address administrative and political reforms and hold accountable those involved in the violence.

A man poses for pictures in front of new graffiti on a street wall at Dhaka University campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Muhammad Yunus was on Sunday (August 11) acquitted in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission over the misappropriation of funds from the Grameen Telecom Workers and Employees Welfare Fund, three days after he took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, according to a media report.

Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka gave the order after accepting the graft agency’s application, seeking to withdraw the case under the Code of Criminal Procedure, an official of the anti-graft agency was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.

On August 7, the Labour Appellate Tribunal acquitted the Nobel laureate and three top officials of Grameen Telecom — Ashraful Hassan, M. Shahjahan and Nurjahan Begum — in a labour law violation case in which they were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined Tk 30,000 each in January.

Mr. Yunus, the 84-year-old economist, on Thursday took oath as the interim government’s chief adviser — a position equivalent to the prime minister.

Nurjahan Begum, who was also an accused in the graft case, is a member of the 16-member Council of Advisers, which will assist Mr. Yunus in running the state’s affairs.

Mr. Yunus had been in a protracted row with the Sheikh Hasina government due to obscure reasons while authorities initiated a series of investigations against him after she came to power in 2008.

Analysis: Why Hasina fell

Bangladesh authorities launched a review of the statutory Grameen Bank’s activities in 2011 and fired Mr. Yunus as its founding managing director on charges of violating the government retirement regulation.

Mr. Yunus was charged under dozens of cases during Ms. Hasina’s regime.

Many people believe Ms. Hasina became enraged when Mr. Yunus announced that he would form a political party in 2007 when a military-backed government ran the country and Ms. Hasina was in prison.

People take photos in front of anti-government graffiti on a vandalised mural depicting Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman days after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of his daughter Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on August 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Even as uncertainty prevails in Bangladesh with an interim government coming to power after widespread protests, the situation on ground is slowly returning to normal, Dhaka-based journalist Mohammad Ibrahim told The Hindu. 

Muhammad Yunus, head and Chief Adviser of the newly formed interim government, had asked the police to return to duty within 24 hours, but they were “nowhere to be found on the roads of Dhaka”, and students across the city are managing traffic. 

“For the last 15 years, the police have been one and the same with the [former Prime Minister Sheikh] Hasina government. They have hurt the public on many occasions. After the fall of the government, they are now scared to get back on the streets, fearing retaliation,” Mr. Ibrahim, a correspondent with the Dhaka Tribune, said.

“Students have been controlling traffic since August 6. They are also cleaning roads and helping the city recover from the aftermath of the protests. Fire service staff and some Army personnel have joined them. We are expecting the police to start working soon,” he added. 

With many killed in the protests, restoring Bangladesh to normalcy is a slow process. Speaking to The Hindu, Tozammel Hasan a bank employee who himself was part of the protests said, “Buses, taxis and autorickshaws are back on the road. Markets are open. Everyone is heading to work like before. Only the metro services are yet to resume,” Tozammel Hasan, a bank employee who participated in the protests, said. He agreed that the students were inexperienced in managing traffic, which sometimes led to congestion and chaos, but they were trying their best. 

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Schools and colleges have not yet reopened in Bangladesh. “They are giving the students time to recover from the physical and mental trauma of the protests. Many are injured, many have seen a lot of killings. But they will be back in classrooms soon,” Mr. Hasan said, a resident of the Rayerbazar area with a large Hindu population and many temples, said. “No major incidents of violence against Hindus have been reported from my area of the city. Students have guarded the temples to ensure safety,” he said. 

Reports of violence 

Multiple incidents of violence against minorities have been reported from Bangladesh. Protests have also erupted across many cities in the country. Significant reports of fake news on the violence have also been widely circulated, both in India and Bangladesh. 

“Before I went to India, I used to hear that Muslims were not safe in India, I saw that reality was otherwise when I went there. The same is true for Bangladesh,” Mr. Ibrahim said, warning against hate-mongering .” He agreed that there had been incidents of violence against minorities. “The media portrayal of the violence is wrong. They are misusing videos and taking them out of context and misreporting. We need to be cautious about what we share and believe,” he said. 

Professor Om Prakash Mishra, Head of Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University said Bangladesh is at “the cusp of momentous change”. “It can strengthen and institutionalise parliamentary democracy in the nation,” Prof. Mishra said. He also said “motivated campaigns” to view the country with “negative lens” would be harmful for all stakeholders. “Incidents of violence during and after the protests have been seen historically across the globe. How soon they bounce back from it is more important,” he said. 

Prof. Mishra also hoped that the interim government would develop the right values for a better and normal administration, even if the transition proved to be difficult.